Should I or shouldn’t I?

For every study reporting they’re good for me is another one saying I'm wasting my time and money.  

New naysayer studies made news earlier this week.

The December 2013 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, a mainstream-respected internal medicine journal of the American College of Physicians, includes three articles addressing vitamin and mineral supplementation to prevent chronic diseases.

The journal’s editorialists discuss the articles' findings and their implications for public health and research. They conclude most mineral and vitamin supplements have no clear benefit, might even be harmful in well-nourished adults, and should not be used for chronic disease prevention.

What’s this middle-aged man concerned about his health and wellness supposed to do in light of these new findings?

Should I believe them, load all my vitamins into my car and go for a drive to a nearby bridge where I toss them into swift river waters to a tragic “death” and end their “danger” to me. 

Should I disregard the naysayers because they’ve been wrong before and tell myself their research is skewed and tilted in favor of those interests funding these studies?

This middle-aged man likes his current favorite vitamins even though he may not faithfully ingest them daily? 

We like our vitamins, both old and new ones, and constantly rotate them in and out of our favor as better and new ones come to our attention thanks to slick marketing by companies selling them.  

We like our vitamins as much as druggies like their drugs.  And like the druggies, we like new ones just like Huey Lewis and The News reminded us 30 years ago in one of their most popular songs “I Want A New Drug”.

This dilemma is a fork in this middle-aged man’s road requiring me to challenge my vitamin supplementation status quo.

Should I or shouldn’t I?

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum